AUTHOR=Thirkell Tom , Cameron Duncan , Hodge Angela 

TITLE=Contrasting Nitrogen Fertilisation Rates Alter Mycorrhizal Contribution to Barley Nutrition in a Field Trial

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2019

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2019.01312

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2019.01312

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>Controlled environment studies show that arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) may contribute to plant nitrogen (N) uptake, but the role of these near-ubiquitous symbionts in crop plant N nutrition under natural field conditions remains largely unknown. In a field trial, we tested the effects of N fertilisation and barley (<italic>Hordeum vulgare</italic> L.) cultivar identity on the contribution of AMF to barley N uptake using <sup>15</sup>N tracers added to rhizosphere soil compartments. AMF were shown capable of significantly increasing plant <sup>15</sup>N acquisition from root exclusion zones, and this was influenced by nitrogen addition type, N fertiliser application rate and barley cultivar identity. Our data demonstrate a previously overlooked potential route of crop plant N uptake which may be influenced substantially and rapidly in response to shifting agricultural management practices.</p>